Air Mobility Workhorse recounts the operational history of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules in Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) service, spanning the A, E and H models from 1958 to 2012, leaving the current J model to be covered in the future.

The C-130 was the catalyst for a transformational shift from Second World War technology to leading-edge aircraft systems in RAAF air mobility and the broader Air Force. The Hercules has become iconic in Australian culture as the first thing viewers often see of news reports when Australia reaches out to the rest of the world to offer aid in times of disaster. 

The author’s intimate knowledge of the aircraft, along with his extensive service on them, brings an insight that only someone who has flown them in testing times can bring. His extensive connections within the Hercules community have brought their stories ‘from the inside’ to give readers a rare glimpse of service in military aviation. 

It is a detailed and balanced reflection of what the mighty Hercules did for Australia and how it affected those who flew it, maintained it, supported it, flew as passengers or benefited from the missions it conducted. This aircraft was truly Australia’s Air Mobility Workhorse.

About the product:

• Author: Bill Kourelakos
• ISBN: 9781923300095
• Format: Hardback
• Publication Date: 16 Sep 2025
• Pages: 1216
• Classification: Non-fiction